something i read

Originally uploaded by BIFRÖST

"science is founded on the conviction that experience,
effort and reason are valid -- magic on the belief that
hope cannot fail nor desire deceive."
-- bronislaw malinowski

music and myth

i don't know why i keep thinking about that claude levi-strauss book "myth and meaning". i'm still processing it. and although i found a lot of it interesting, for some reason the final chapter on music keeps coming back in my head... when he talks about music taking over the structure and function of mythology. the example he discusses is the recurring theme of the renunciation of love in wagner and that the only way to understand the recurrence of the theme throughout this long story is to try to see if the events which represent that theme are one and the same... okay, you get it, right? if not, just read the last chapter of his book because what i really wanted to talk about is something different. namely, reading about wagner got me thinking about country music, and i mean music like maybe what george jones made popular... country music with a narrative, frequently an autobiographical one. so i thought, that would be a fun project -- looking at the narrative constructed in country music or american folk music and see how the structure and function is comparable to mythology, as discussed by CLS. in my quick search for such studies, i found this book.














looks cool. it's on the 'to read' list... like so many other books.

in the meantime, i can't stop listening to this song by band of annuals... it's a little bit country and little bit folksy.

ineffable

so what is the order of operations?

-- see something
-- have an emotional response
-- can't describe that emotion with any words

hmmm?

photo by BIFRÖST

vampires and zombies

this post is for bryan and his funny story about vampires.

this is the zombie part:


i really like the sound effects in that video... it was found via something JD told me to look at. he's been doing work for long now and told me to look at this interesting piece from will wright and brian eno. but to be honest with you, i haven't finished watching the wright/eno thing. some day.

purple

this photo is by jackson eaton
and i'm really digging it right now.

found entry

"this isn't a letter to you anymore. it's a letter. to no one. to me. a letter to groucho. it's a crinkled letter with a coffee stain on it. it's the last drop of tea in the bottom of the cup that doesn't really have taste but is obligatorily consumed to empty the cup and quench the last bit of thirst. it's the tea dregs. it's the sting in your eyes after crying. it's the wandering mind that distracts me to the point of procrastination."

lots of snow

it's been a while since i posted... not that i have a fanbase out there, but this snowy day inspired me to write something and share it.

i was away for a while -- incommunicado for a couple of months, kind of living in a tent. it was nice to get away, but there's nothing like being home, even if it means now i have to deal with all of the regular day-to-day shit that is annoying.

during my travels i went to the calexico kxci fundraiser show in tucson. no pics of that, but it was fun.


back in november i saw elf power with vic chesnutt at club congress. it was a really interesting show. elf power really impressed me. here is the tucson weekly preview of it. here is vic chesnutt on npr -- worth checking out.

back in october (?) i saw okkervil river before leaving buffalo. it was a good show, but i think that eric bachmann's band kind of stole the show.

here are some things that i have been thinking about lately:

-- this post by juliana hatfield really got me. it's about dealing with her dog dying. it's about love and loss. made me miss my girl.


-- i really like this new bon iver song.



-- gotta get in as much cross country skiing as possible these days...

and on that note, that's what i'm going to go do.